Line #96 WebVideo/TheCartoonMan


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thecartoonman_375.jpg]]
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3	''The Cartoon Man'' is a trilogy of low-budget independent films produced by Creator/SmokingBottleEntertainment, and released as a WebVideoSeries. The three installments are named ''The Cartoon Man'', ''Return of the Cartoon Man'', and ''Journey of the Cartoon Man''.
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5	The series begins with Agents Roy Wilkins and Karen Huntley investigating the deserted apartment of occultist animator Oswald Sherzikien. After Roy comes into contact with some mysterious black ink, he starts to undergo a strange transformation. He has convulsive outbursts, his hands become giant white cartoon gloves, and, little by little, he starts turning into a human cartoon character, a phenomenon that wreaks havoc on his life, and pushes his relationship with his girlfriend Valerie to its breaking point. As the investigation into Oswald Sherzikien continues, it becomes clear that the case is more bizarre and outlandish than anyone expected, and Simon, Roy and Karen's chief superior, begins to have some nefarious ideas... And that's just the first movie.
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7	The series can be viewed at the [[https://www.smokingbottleentertainment.com/the-cartoon-man-trilogy official website]].
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9	----
10	!!''The Cartoon Man'' trilogy provides examples of:
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12	%%* AcmeProducts: Simon's dynamite detonator in the first movie; the anvil and trampoline in the second.
13	%%* AlternateTooniverse: The Second Dimension
14	%%* AnvilOnHead: Used by Roy and Simon during their chase in the second movie.
15	%%* AnotherDimension: Specifically, the Second Dimension
16	* ArtShift: Peter's backstory is told through a series of cartoon-like drawings with some LimitedAnimation.
17	%%* AshFace: Happens to Roy after Simon blasts him with dynamite.
18	%%* BigBad: [[spoiler:Oswald Sherzikien]]
19	%%* BigBallOfViolence: Roy's fight with Sherzikien's cartoon army at the end of the third movie takes this form.
20	%%* BigDamnKiss: In the third movie, Roy and Valerie share one [[spoiler:that enables them to levitate out of a quicksand pit.]]
21	* BillBillJunkBill: Roy finds Peter's invitation in a pile of bills (including a duck bill).
22	* BitByBitTransformation: Happens to Roy in the first movie. First his hands change, then his hair, and finally his eyes.
23	%%* BodyHorror: Roy's transformation in the first movie is a parody of this trope.
24	* BreakingTheFourthWall: The characters never goes so far as to acknowledge being in a movie/web series, but Roy occasionally looks right at the camera as if aware of it. %% And then there's the montage in the third movie.
25	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Sherzikien turns those under the sway of the Glove of the Animator [[spoiler:including Simon, Valerie and, briefly, Karen]] into his minions, and makes them attack Roy.
26	* BreakUpMakeUpScenario: Twice.
27	** Midway through ''Return of the Cartoon Man,'' Roy and Karen are returned to normal. They awkwardly part ways when Karen wishes to continue their investigation, and Roy just wants to stay home and go back to his life. [[spoiler:A short time later, Roy goes back to help Karen when he learns that Simon has resurfaced with a new evil plan.]]
28	** Then, in ''Journey of the Cartoon Man'', Roy and Valerie come to blows and part ways, only for Roy to almost immediately go back to her after a GoodAngelBadAngel debate.
29	%%* BrickJoke: "Let's cut to the chase!"
30	* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: When Roy and Valerie enter a pitch-black cave, only their eyes are visible.
31	* CantStayNormal: In the second movie, Roy is reverted to his original self, and attempts to go back to a normal life. [[spoiler:In a matter of hours, Simon returns with a diabolical plan that can only be stopped by another cartoon man.]]
32	%%* CartoonBomb: Roy produces one during the battle in the first movie, but doesn't use it until the third.
33	%%* ChekhovsGun: The pen found in the tree turns out to be quite significant. [[spoiler:So do the feather and the glove, but not until the sequels.]]
34	%%* ChekhovsSkill: Roy's ability to detach his gloved hands.
35	%%* CirclingBirdies: In this case, circling stars and the sound of tweeting birds.
36	* CliffHanger: [[spoiler:''Return of the Cartoon Man'' ends with Simon taking Karen into the Second Dimension, and Roy and Valerie crossing over to save her, along with hints that Oswald Sherzikien has a master plan that effects the entire world.]]
37	%%* ClingyJealousGirl: Valerie becomes this when Roy tries to leave her and help Karen.
38	%%* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Simon is basically a small-time version of this before his transformation.
39	%%* DancePartyEnding: The first movie has one, albeit with only two characters.
40	%%* DastardlyWhiplash: Simon, in his cartoon form.
41	* DeliveryStork: [[spoiler:A stork shows up in the last scene of ''Journey of the Cartoon Man'' to deliver a cartoon baby to Roy and Valerie.]]
42	* DisneyDeath: At the end of the first movie, [[spoiler:Karen is fatally wounded by Simon, but Roy manages to save her life by transforming her into a cartoon with the black ink.]]
43	%%* TheDragon: Simon becomes this to [[spoiler:Oswald Sherzikien]] in the sequels.
44	* EmergencyTransformation: At the end of the first movie, [[spoiler:Roy has to turn Karen into a cartoon to save her life.]]
45	%%* EverybodyDoTheEndlessLoop: The inhabitants of the Second Dimension glimpsed through the portals have a rather limited range of movement.
46	%%* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: [[spoiler:Valerie in her cartoon form.]]
47	%%* EvilCounterpart: Simon, to Roy
48	%%* EvilLaugh: Simon has quite an impressive one.
49	%%* EyePop: Roy when he sees [[spoiler:the transformed Karen]] at the end of the first movie, and [[spoiler:Sherzikien's OneWingedAngel form]] in the third.
50	%%* FeelNoPain: All of the characters after becoming cartoons. Roy demonstrates by jamming a fork into his arm.
51	%%* ForTheEvulz: Simon's motivation for taking over the world - "Why not?"
52	* ForTheFunnyz: After Valerie puts back Roy's detached hand, he instinctively replies "Thanks for giving me a hand!" because it seemed appropriate in the moment.
53	-->''"I don't know why I said that! That was so stupid, but it... for some reason, just felt like the right thing to do."''
54	* FourFingeredHands: Roy has only four fingers when cartoonified, but none of the other characters do.
55	* GenreThrowback: To films of the 80s and 90s in which live action humans interact with cartoon elements, most famously in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', a "genre" largely defunct since the rise of computer graphics.
56	%%* GlowingEyesOfDoom: [[spoiler:Sherzikien has red ones in his OneWingedAngel form.]]
57	* GravityIsAHarshMistress: When Roy cuts a hole underneath Simon, Simon doesn't fall until he realizes what's happened. The same thing happens when Roy and Valerie run off a cliff in the Second Dimension.
58	%%* GreenHillZone: Roy and Valerie begin their journey through the Second Dimension in a cartoon forest that looks like this.
59	* GoodAngelBadAngel: An angel and devil version of Roy pop up to debate whether to go after Valerie when she walks out on him in the third movie.
60	* {{Hammerspace}}: When the characters are transformed, they are able to pull animated objects out of thin air at will. Simon produces an actual hammer several times.
61	%%* HarmlessElectrocution: Roy electrocutes Simon during their battle.
62	%%* HeroicWillpower: [[spoiler:Roy is strong-willed enough to resist the Glove of the Animator.]]
63	%%* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: Oswald Sherzikien, [[spoiler:until ''Journey of the Cartoon Man''.]]
64	* IJustWantToBeNormal: Roy spends much of the first and second movie just wanting to be normal again after being turned into a cartoon.
65	* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: During the final battle of ''Journey of the Cartoon Man'', Roy manages to snap [[spoiler:Valerie]] out of Sherzikien's mind control by means of [[spoiler: [[RunningGag salsa dancing.]]]]
66	* IncrediblyLamePun: "Thanks for giving me a hand!" regarding Roy's detached hand. Roy is fully aware of its lameness.
67	* InterdimensionalTravelDevice: The dimensional transponder [[spoiler:which looks just like an ordinary pen.]]
68	%%* IrisOut
69	%%* LargeHam: Roy gradually becomes one as his transformation progresses. When Simon transforms, he becomes even hammier.
70	* LevelAte: Roy and Valerie find themselves standing in a giant ice cream sundae at one point on their journey.
71	%%* LimitedAnimation
72	%%* LiteralMinded: Roy and Karen, when Peter attempts to ask them questions.
73	%%* {{MacGuffin}}: The dimensional transponder [[spoiler:which is a pen. Also, the Glove of the Animator in the third movie.]]
74	* MagicAntidote: Peter gives Roy and Karen a strange green beverage [[spoiler:that almost instantly turns them back into their normal selves.]]
75	* MatchlightDangerRevelation: When he and Valerie wander into a pitch-black cave, Roy strikes a match to reveal a bear, lion, and dinosaur growling behind them.
76	%%* MediumBlending
77	* MediumShiftGag: Half an hour into a live action movie, Roy removes his sunglasses and reveals animated eyes.
78	%%* MindControlDevice: [[spoiler:the Glove of the Animator]]
79	* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: When transformed, the characters not only look cartoony, but act like cartoon characters as well.
80	* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: The first movie begins with a missing persons case. [[spoiler:By the end of the trilogy, the formerly missing person in question is trying to take over the world.]]
81	* MoodWhiplash: In several places. Most notably, toward the end of the first movie, a rather intense, serious scene gives way to a crazy cartoon battle that's more over-the-top than anything seen up to that point. Then it becomes serious again even more abruptly.
82	%%* {{Mordor}}: The part of the Second Dimension where Sherzikien lives has this appearance.
83	%%* MotionlessChin: Peter, after he [[spoiler:becomes a talking piece of paper]].
84	%%* MutagenicGoo: Oswald Sherzikien's black ink, "fermented from the ash of the Fires of Flemsigrad."
85	* NighInvulnerability: Everyone who is cartoonified becomes immune to all pain.
86	%%* NonFatalExplosions: Several during Roy and Simon's battles in both movies.
87	%%* ObviouslyEvil: Simon, once he's been cartoonified.
88	* OccultDetective: Karen and Roy are attempting to be this in the beginning. The Sherzikien case is their first real encounter with magic.
89	%%* OffscreenCrash: Roy, after he runs into Simon's trampoline and is sent flying backwards.
90	%%* OffScreenTeleportation: Numerous examples. In particular, [[spoiler:Cynthia]] does quite a bit of this after being transformed.
91	* OneWingedAngel: At the end of ''Journey of the Cartoon Man'', [[spoiler: Sherzikien drinks some of his own ink, and becomes a red-eyed cartoon giant.]]
92	* UsefulNotes/OperaGloves: Valerie has them [[spoiler:in her cartoon form, complementing Roy's giant white gloves.]]
93	* PainfulTransformation: The characters feel no pain after being transformed, but the transformations themselves do not seem pleasant.
94	* PaintedTunnelRealTrain: Roy paints a tunnel that Simon can enter, but he himself cannot.
95	* ParanormalInvestigation: The series begins with Roy and Karen investigating the apartment of an occultist animator, and experiencing various supernatural phenomena that lead to Roy's transformation.
96	* PlayingWithPuppets: [[spoiler:Sherzikien makes everyone dance while wearing the Glove of the Animator.]]
97	* PlungerDetonator: Simon uses one to set off a stick of dynamite.
98	* QuicksandSucks: Roy and Valerie get stuck in some quicksand on their journey through the Second Dimension in the third movie.
99	* RealityWarper: Cartoonified people gain, according to Peter, "the ability to bend reality in the service of humor."
100	* RecurringExtra: Kim and Donnie start out as this, but end up affecting the story in a minor way when they help Valerie [[spoiler:and take part in the third movie's final battle.]]
101	* RedEyesTakeWarning: [[spoiler:Sherzikien's eyes turn red when he drinks a sip of ink and becomes a cartoon monster.]]
102	%%* RoadRunnerVsCoyote: Roy and Simon's climactic chase in the second movie is an homage to this type of cartoon.
103	%%* RogerRabbitEffect
104	%%* RollercoasterMine: How Roy and Valerie get from the cave to Sherzikien's castle. Their ride even begins with a theme park-like safety spiel.
105	%%* RunningGag: Salsa dancing!
106	%%* RunningOnTheSpot: Roy does this a few times.
107	%%* ScreechingStop: Simon stops with a screeching sound at the start of ''Return of the Cartoon Man's'' climactic chase scene.
108	* SequelEscalation: The first movie is almost entirely live action, with some animated effects near the end. The sequel has animation throughout, and builds to an over-the-top cartoon chase scene. The third is an epic that largely takes place in an animated world, and concludes with the biggest cartoon battle yet.
109	* SequelHook: ''The Cartoon Man'' ends with [[spoiler:Simon and Valerie getting sucked into the Second Dimension,]] which is addressed in the follow-up. ''Return of the Cartoon Man'' has a straight up CliffHanger.
110	%%* SlasherSmile: Simon just before blowing Roy up with dynamite.
111	%%* SlippySlideyIceWorld: Roy and Valerie travel through one during the montage.
112	* SlowTransformation: Roy's transformation in the first movie takes several days.
113	%%* SquashedFlat: Happens to Roy, Simon, and Valerie several times.
114	* StockScream: Each movie features a Wilhelm Scream when a character falls.
115	* TelephoneTeleport: [[spoiler:Simon pulls Karen through Roy's phone at the end of the second movie.]]
116	%%* ThirstyDesert: Roy and Valerie ride through one on a camel during their journey across the Second Dimension.
117	* ThisMeansWar: Roy says this exact line at the start of his cartoon battle with Simon.
118	%%* {{Toon}}: The characters act like traditional toons, despite remaining live action (aside from Roy's eyes).
119	%%* ToonPhysics: Post-transformation, all of the characters operate on toon physics.
120	%%* ToonTown: The Second Dimension
121	* ToonTransformation: The main premise, but not a traditional example, as the characters never become fully animated, even in the Second Dimension.
122	%%* TransformationSequence: Roy goes through one of these near the end of the second movie [[spoiler:when he must transform again to fight Simon.]]
123	* UnderTheSea: Roy and Valerie swim underwater at one point in the montage.
124	* VisualPun: When Peter tells Roy and Karen he wants to discuss "the elephant in the room," an actual cartoon elephant appears.
125	* WhiteGloves: The first part of Roy's transformation occurs when his hands become giant white cartoon gloves. None of the other characters have them, however.
126	* WhiteVoidRoom: Sherzikien's dreamotorium, in which he "draws" various images to illustrate his plans to Karen and Roy.
127	* XRaySparks: We see Simon's skeleton when Roy electrocutes him.
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Context WebVideo / TheCartoonMan